On October 27th, IPA and J-PAL hosted a session at the Opportunity Finance Network Conference — "Randomized Control Trials: What your CDFI Needs to Know. " In the session, the US Finance Initiative at IPA discussed why RCTs are so powerful and how community development financial institutions can use RCTs to understand the impacts of their products and services. Topics covered included why RCTs are an effective tool for decision-making, including when they're useful (and when they're not), tangible steps to take to prepare for and launch an RCT or A/B test, and identifying appropriate metrics and ideas for how to maximize the value of data. The session presenters were Rohit Naimpally, J-PAL North America; Rebecca Rouse, Innovations for Poverty Action; and Nora Gregory, Innovations for Poverty Action.